George Duke
Character Info Name: George Duke Height: 6' 2" Weight: 268 lbs. Hometown: Philadelphia, PA Entrance Music: "Death Rides A Horse" Ennio Morricone Bio: George Duke was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. Growing up, he dropped out of High School to go to work in his father's butcher shop. Having a steady job there, he worked over a dozen jobs on the side to earn extra cash to help pay his family's bills. Growing up, his father would take him to every match that came by, and at the age of 16 he began training for the ring. Starting as an amateur boxer, George quit his side jobs and joined the wrestling circuit soon after, usually hitching rides to his matches. It was around this time, that George was married and tried to maintain a family. Within a few years, George quit his father's shop and left his family to join a travelling carnival, often wrestling as an attraction on the Strates' Carnival Midway. It was here that George learned a lot of his skills, spending time with rough and gruff carnies. He learned holds from the older wrestlers on the card, and he learned dirty tricks from the other carnival staff. George acquired a great deal of money, and would send his checks home every week. One night, while in the midwest, George was wrestling challengers from the audience. A promoter was impressed by the rough-housing, but scietifically talented kid - and offered to take him on a wrestling tour of Europe. George agreed and returned home for a week's rest. He found his house occupied by another family, and his wife and kids gone. She had sold the house and shacked up with another man - and still had been collecting his checks every week. Saddened and enraged, he took off to Europe and quickly made a name for himself, his brutal style only being fueled by his personal frustrations. By the time he got back to the States, George hooked up with a lot of promoters, and was quickly a regular attraction up and down the East Coast, occasionally battlign in the Midwest and even North Pacific. On these tours, he met his heroes, and gathered advice from them attentively. In the mid-seventies, a promoter gave him a big break. Promoters didn't want to give him big matches with big stars, for fear of injuring the stars. George agreed to tone-down his vicious ring style and join a tag-team with Vic Regal. Duke & Regal became a decent draw as Heels, and were given a dream match at JFK Stadium. Being local heroes, Duke and his partner were pit against the two biggest stars in the sport - Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales. This was the match that could have launched them both into super-stardom. However, it was not to be. Less than a minute into the match, Regal clumsily dropped a foreign object while attempting to rip Morales open. They were immediately disqualified and fired. A near riot resulted in the promoter offering a partial refund for the tickets - a price George had to help pay. Duke was back to square one, wrestling in small regionals and special cards, mostly close to home. Frustrated with dealing with small time promoters, George made one final tour of Europe, but he was reluctantly booked (news spreads fast between promoters) and eventually dropped. He continued to wrestle small cards, but decided to move on. In the late 80's, he had saved up a great sum of cash (having no one else to provide for all these years), and opened his own Gym on Front Street in his home town. It was mostly an underground operation, usually a stepping-stone for people on their way to The Monster Factory. George continued to run his gym, training younger people in the harshest manners. Officially retiring from active wrestling in the early 90's, George made his return to ringside in 2006, acting as a manager for Frank Christian in COPW and GCW. After an injury sidelined Frank, George laced up the boots once more and filled in for his friend. In his fifties, George began raising hell, becoming more brutal and dirty than ever, to compinsate for his elevated age. While George still possesses a very strong technical skill (and calls on it on occasion), he often prefers to be rough and dirty. George has worked with the most vicious people in the business, and has learned a great deal from them. His knowledge of wrestling holds is unparalleled, and his grasp of dirty maneuvers and sneaky tactics is even larger. Despite his age, George is in great shape for his age and often surprises his opponents with his skill and tenacity. Duke has wrestled recently in ACW, GCW and SCCW - holding prominent titles in the last two. Moves Finishers 1. Iron Maiden -Type of 'double claw'. Right hand locks on the Von Rashke 'Brain Claw', while the other slips in under it and locks on the Von Erich style "Iron Claw". The effect completely closes in the face, giving it is's name.(This Finisher should be used only on special matches or every now and then) 2. Duke Lock (Modified Camel Clutch w/ pressure focus on the neck.) This is used as normal finisher.